SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A conservative legal group has filed a lawsuit against the superintendent and school board members for the Chico Unified School District, alleging that a district employee helped a fifth grade student transition their gender identity without informing the child’s parent.
The Center for American Liberty, founded by attorney Harmeet Dhillon, who is campaigning to be chair of the Republican National Committee, filed the lawsuit on Jan. 6.
It contends that in 2021, an 11-year-old fifth grade student told a school counselor that they were transgender, prompting the counselor and teachers to refer to the child by a male name and male pronouns.
The child’s mother, Aurora Regino, found out and “immediately sought answers” from the school district, according to a statement from the Center for American Liberty. The child later “returned to identifying as a girl,” according to the statement.
“If the school system thinks this is the law, then someone needs to stand up for our children and let them know how wrong and damaging it is,” Regino said in a statement. “Our rights as parents do not stop as soon as we drop our children off at school.”
The lawsuit contends that the Chico Unified School District maintains a “Parental Secrecy Policy” that keeps school employees from sharing a child’s gender identity or sexual orientation with parents.
After media outlets started reporting the lawsuit last week, Superintendent Kelly Staley sent a letter to school district parents.
“While our legal counsel is currently reviewing the lawsuit, we can address the article’s headline and assure our community that Chico Unified does not have a ‘Parental Secrecy Policy,’ nor do we ever try to change a student’s individual identity,” Staley said. “In regard to the lawsuit, we value our community and will thoroughly review and investigate any claims.”
Transgender and gender-nonconforming students may not be “out” in all circumstances, including at home, according to the California Department of Education.
“Revealing a student’s gender identity or expression to others may compromise the student’s safety. Thus, preserving a student’s privacy is of the utmost importance,” according to a department memo.
The department maintains that both state and federal law protects a transgender student’s right to keep their gender identity private.
“Disclosing that a student is transgender without the student’s permission may violate California’s anti-discrimination law by increasing the student’s vulnerability to harassment and may violate the student’s right to privacy,” according to the department.
Transgender youth are more likely to report suicidal thoughts and being victims of violence than their peers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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